Braise

Braised Shrimp Puttanesca

March 28, 2018
4
3 Ratings
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This sauce-braising technique can be used to cook other proteins, too: In place of the shrimp, try nestling 1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin or boneless, skinless chicken thighs into the sauce in Step 2 and simmer, covered, until cooked through (145 degrees for pork, 165 degrees for chicken). This sauce is particularly excellent served over any pasta shape or atop creamy polenta. —Jennifer Clair

Test Kitchen Notes

This recipe is featured in the story, 14 Cozy, Tomatoey Braises to Warm Your Stove Now Through March, sponsored by Muir Glen. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 anchovy fillets, whole
  • ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes, crushed
  • ½ cups red wine
  • 1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons capers
  • ¼ cups Kalamata olives, chopped
  • pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Directions
  1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the anchovies and pepper flakes, and cook just until the anchovies just dissolve, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, capers, and olives and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Nestle the shrimp into the sauce. Bring the sauce back to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, until the shrimp are curled in a “c” shape and have turned bright white, 4 to 5 minutes (they cook quickly, so keep an eye on them). Season to taste with salt, if needed (the olives, capers, and anchovies are quite salty so they sauce may need no further seasoning). Serve atop cooked pasta or polenta.

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2 Reviews

TGard August 1, 2021
This is an easy, quick, and tasty sauce for braising, like you said, just about any protein. The addition of some tomato paste might be helpful, I cut the recipe in half and the sauce fell apart, became watery. The polenta did a fine job of sucking it up but it wouldn't have worked as well with pasta. Wanting to make it a one pot dish, I chopped some kale and let it braise a while before adding the shrimp. This may have contributed to the watery aspect slightly but it made for a very nice sort of crunchy texture. Tip: I have thicken up sauces with a tablespoon or so of Bobs Red Mill instant mashed potatoes (the best, the only instant potato) and it works quite well.
FrugalCat March 30, 2018
That looks so pretty on top of the polenta.